Equities iu Canada’s largest centre held on to modest gains in the mid-afternoon session, taking strength mostly from firmer info tech stocks, which were the biggest positive influence on the benchmark index. But gains were kept minimal, as energy shares fell further into the negative territory.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 47.4 points to close the session at 15,028.12
The Canadian dollar erased 0.27 cents to 83.35 cents U.S.
On the sector front, consumer staples proved the leading advancer, as Alimentation Couche-Tard leaped $1.50, or 3.3%, to $46.84, and Metro Inc. climbed $1.08, or 3.1%, to $35.71
Consumer discretionary stocks were next down the pecking order, as DHX Media screamed higher by 89 cents, or 10.5%, to $9.39, and Amaya Inc. hiked $1.99, or 6.5%, to $32.58.
Among tech stocks, Constellation Software jumped $10.46, or 2.2%, to $495.44.
In the health-care sector, Extendicare zoomed 19 cents, or 2.5%, to $7.69.
Energy stocks fell, most notably Baytex Energy, which shrank $1.20, or 5.6%, to $20.25.
The most actively traded stock was still Kinross Gold, which faded half a cent to $3.05, on 16.2 million shares.
Canadian financial authorities are unlikely to raise the country's inflation target after a review this year given the risk to the central bank's credibility and widespread support for the existing benchmark
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada revealed its new housing price index was unchanged in March, following a 0.2% increase in February
Economists expected new home prices to have risen 0.1% in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 1.11 points to 692
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day, led by consumer staples, hiking 1.9%, consumer discretionary issues, headed higher 1.5%, and information technology, clicking higher 1.1%.
The two lone holdouts were energy, down 0.9%, and utilities, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks enjoyed strong gains on Thursday as investors cheered further weakness in the dollar and calmer bond markets, amid mixed economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped 191.25 points, or 1.1%, to 18,252.24, with Apple leading gains and Cisco the only decliner.
The S&P 500 index gained 22.02 points to 2,120.50, setting a new closing record with information technology jumping 1.7% to lead all 10 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ sprinted 67.26 points to 5,048.95
Tech stocks led the rally. Apple closed up 2.3%. Facebook broke its 50-day moving average with a 3.5% leap.
Microsoft extended recent gains, rising as much as 2.45%. On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold," noting "investor enthusiasm about Azure and Office 365 is just starting to kick in."
Cisco fell 1% despite posting earnings after the close Wednesday that beat on both the top and bottom lines. In a conference call, outgoing CEO John Chambers said product orders in Russia, Brazil and China declined year-over-year, with China orders falling 21%
Orders for the Americas gained 2% from the same period last year.
Weekly jobless claims came in at 264,000, a touch below last week's reading and below expectations for a slight increase. The initial filings for unemployment benefits per week remain near 15-year lows.
The producer price index for April fell 0.4%, with the core figure down 0.2%. The report was expected to show a slight uptick. The monthly measure of input costs is a secondary factor in determining the rate of change in prices, after the consumer price index.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.24% from Wednesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 77 cents a barrel to $59.73 U.S.
Gold prices gained $3.30 to $1,221.50 U.S.
